Pepper and Gorgonzola Bruschetta

Hello, summer? Are you here yet? Oh, never mind. That was just this appetizer fooling me. Because, I mean, for a moment I felt like I was at a summer cookout, snacking on a few pieces of sweet pepper bruschetta before indulging in a grilled burger or some BBQ chicken. But, nope. I’m still alternating days of “Ooh, I’m putting my winter coat back in the closet!” and “OMG where did I put my scarf, gloves, and warm fuzzy socks??” I think it’s trying to get warm in Boston, but it’s kind of doing a really bad job of it. I’m not asking for 70 degrees here; just a light spring coat, some ballet flats, and a pair of sunnies. Too much?

In the meantime, summery foods most certainly help. When I asked my mom what I could bring for Easter dinner, she mentioned a recipe for she spotted from Ina Garten and it sounded both summery, simple, and light enough that we could chow down and still have room for ham. I put my own spin on the recipe to add some color and flavors and have a feeling I’ll be making it 100 times more all summer long.

The recipe is super simple. Heat 2 T olive oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat and add the peppers and onions to the pan.

Cook the peppers until they’re soft, which will likely take about 12-15 minutes.

While the peppers are sautéing, place baguette slices on a parchment paper covered baking sheet and brush one side lightly with oil. Pop in the oven at 375 degrees and bake until slightly browned, about 7-10 minutes.

When your peppers and onions are pretty much done, toss in the tomatoes and basil. Also, toss with salt and pepper.

Top each bread slice with a little of the vegetable mixture. And then put some gorgonzola cheese on top of that.

Put back in the oven for 1-2 minutes, so cheese can get melty. This is a pretty good appetizer to travel with, too. I made the pepper mixture and toasted the bread at my apartment. Then, when I got to my parents’ house, I topped the bread with the mixture and put back into the oven for a little bit.

Definitely summer heaven and really, so simple I never would have come up with it. But it’s definitely a good reminder that simple is often the best.

Also, my mom’s Nora Fleming carrot topper is the cutest and oh so perfect for Easter.

Oh, I forgot the gorgonzola. Can anything with gorgonzola actually be bad? Probably not. I hope you don’t see it as a cop out; but there really was no other cheese I could think of to maximize this bruschetta’s potential! Bruschetta most certainly isn’t boring, despite the fact it’s basically bread with toppings. In fact, I might spend the better part of my summer proving the bruschetta is the bomb. Though, in all honesty, that would probably take about 5 minutes!

I’ve been meaning to make this recipe myself, so I’m glad to see a glowing review! Not that you can really ever go wrong with an Ina recipe…I mean, is anything in her cookbooks NOT perfect? Looks amazing!